johnson



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. E. JOHNSON. RIBBON FEED REVERSING MECHANISM. I No. 546,067. PatentedSept. 10, 1895.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. E. JOHNSON. RIBBON FEED REVERSING MECHANISM.

No. 546,067. Patented Sept. 10, 1895.

I? M, ,7 um

J lwnm' 3 |H%t (f/r "t I '1 a I O 0 1 0 I E Jv i I i O ,4 WA? l I? 1 Y/J: 1 c1. J 4f HI Oil A a a t 1 l 3 i 1 L i i WITNESSES: V NTOR Ohm/1'20817. J'ohnso n ATTO NE).

N0 Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheet 3.

C. E. JOHNSON. RIBBON FEED REVBRSING MECHANISM.

No. 546,067. Patented Sept. 10,1895.

EiiillME 1, A WEI H 1 a 40mm WITNESSES.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

0. E. JOHNSON. RIBBON FEED REVERSING MECHANISM. No. 546,067. PatentedSept. 10; 1895.

l glm n [fiwumu I I I umw mum Emu-T /NVENTOH WITNESSES.

Gha/rZe/sE. John/801v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cnAfiL'Es E. JOHNSON, OF'IMOUN'I JACKSON, AssIGNo TO THE JOHNSON INOVELTY COMPANY, or InDI 'NAPoLIs, INDIANA.

RIIB'BQN-FEED-REVERSING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming 5m of Letters Patent No. -54e.oe7, dated September10, 1895. Application filed November 6| 1894. Serial No. 528.038- (Nomodel.) I

To all Iohom} it concern/f I I Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. J onnson,a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Jackson, in the countyof Marion and Reversing Mechanism, ofwhich-the following State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements inRibbon-Feedis a specification.

My present invention principally consists in an improved apparatuswhereby the ribbon-feed in type-writing machines is reversedautomatically each time the ribbon becomes unwound from oneof itsspools; and it further consists in combining therewith the trans; verseribbon-feed attachment, so that it shall be operated from saidautomaticribbon-feedreversing mechanism.

While with certain structural modifications my invention isapplicable touse with any typewriter of this'general constr'uctionfl haveselected forpurposes of illustration the machine known as the Remington. In thedrawings. however, I have omitted much of the type-writer mechanismwhich is not especially related to my said invention; but in all casesthe regular Remington construction may be understood. I

Referring, to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof,and on which similar letters offreference, indicate similar parts,Figure1 is a top or plan view of atype-v writer providedwith my improvedapparatus, the position of the carriage thereon being indicated for themost part by means of dotted lines; Fig. 2, a horizontal sectional viewim mediately below the plate forming the upper part of the framework ofthe type-writer, the position of said plate being indicated by dottedlines; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal sectionalview throughthe'npperportion of the type-Writeryas seen when looking upwardly .from'the dotted line 3 3 in Fig. 2; Fi 4,- a detail sectional view, on'anenlarged scale, as I seen from the rear side of the ribbon-feed shaft,the view being broken back at a central point to showthe bar connectingthe two ends of my apparatus and that portion of the frame to which .itis connected in section; Fig; 5, a view substantially like Fig. ,4,.except that some of the parts are shown in a different position; Fig.6, a. perspective view of the lever one end of the spool and theattachments by which said release is ettected; Figs. 7 and 8, detailviews showing the form of the pawls on the-spools, through which thereleasing devices are operated; Fig. 9, sectional views illustrating twopositions of the uppe" end of thelever atone end of themachine, formingpart of. the shifting mechanism; Fig. 10, an end elevation of a portionof the machine; Fig. 11, a. detailhorizontal sectional view similar insome respects to a portion of Fig. 2, but on a larger scale and taken ata little .ditferent-point; Fig. 1 2,atop or plan view, on

a larger scale, of one end'ot the shifting-bar shown in full in Fig.1and in its'other position from that shown in Fi 1; and Figs. 13

and 14, detail transverse sectional views, as seen from the'dotted lines1313 and 14 14, re-

spectively, in Fig. 12.

In said drawings, the portions-.piarked'd represent the framework; B,the traveling carriage; (J, the ribbon-spool shafts; D, the

shaft which drives the ribbon-spool. shafts;

by which the connecting-bar is released at.

E, abar extending from end to end of the machine and connecting theshifting mech-'- anism at the two ends; F, a lever by which the shaft Dand bar E are moved in one direction; G, a detent by which said bar isheld to the positionto which it is moved by the lever F; H, a spring bywhich when the detent G is released the mechanism is moved to the otherposition; I, a lev'er by which the detent G is operated; J, a-shiftingpawl on one ribbon-spool by which the lever I is operated; K, a lever bywhich the catch on the upper end of the lever F is-operated; L, a

shifting pawl on the other ribbon-spool, by

which .the' lever K is operated; M, an operating device attached to thetraveling carriage, by which the lever F is operated at the appropriatetime; N, a crank-wheel operated from the bar E, by which the mechanismfor moving the ribbon transversely is automatically operated, and O theordinary rock shatt ofsaid last-named mechanism.

The frame A and carriage-B are among the parts which are or may be ofthe ordinary construction, as are also, in themselves, the

shafts O and I), and the rock-shaftO and attached parts are also commonto many type- [too i writing machines. Upon theshaftsC are the ordinaryspools C and C but arrangedwvithin the heads ofsaid spools, as shownmost plainly in Figs/7 and 8, are the pawlsJ and L. The ribbon R runsfrom one spool to the other, as usual, and is of the ordinary width; butthe tape T, as shown most plainly in Fig. 6, is narrower than theribbon, leaving a portion of the spool exposed when the ribbon isunwound therefrom. The pawlJ hasa projectionj and the pawl L has aprojection Z, and these projections extend out in position to be exposedwhen the ribbon is unwound and occupya portion of the space left nakedon the spool because of the narrowness of the tapes T. Thus said pawlsare free to play back and forth when only the tape is on the spools,butare adapted to be forced in,so that the projectionsj and Z will beclose to the body of the spool when the tapes are wound up and theribbon bcginsto wind. These pawls, which fall out when released by theunwinding of the ribbon and come in contact with the levers I and K, arethe means by which the mechanism which causes the shifting to take placeis operated, as will hereinafter be more fully described.

The bar E extends from end to end of the machine, just on top of theframe Aa-nd below the traveling carriage B. As a whole, it is best shownin Fig.1,where itis shown as secured to the frame A by theattaching-screws a a, passing through slots in saidbar and entering saidframe A. These attaching-screws are so adjusted that said bar E mayslide freely back and forth on the frame a distance equal to the lengthof the shortest screw-slot in said bar. As shown in Fig. 1, at therighthand end, the lever F extends up through a slot in said bar E andengages with notches in the sides of said slot, and thus as said leveris moved back and forth said bar is caused to move correspondingly. Atthe left-hand end the .bar E is so constructed and provided with suchattachments that it may operate the devices by which the ribbon is givenits automatic transverse movement, as will be hereinafter particularlydescribed, and at the same end is the projection e, extending into acontinuation of the slot through which the attaching-screw it passes,with which the detent G will engage.

The lever- F, as best shown in Figs. 1 and'4, is mounted on a pivotf ina downwardly-projecting bracket A 'on the frame A and is bifurcated andpasses astride the shaft D just behind the collar or hub 01 thereon, andthus as said lever is moved toward that end of the machine nearest whichit is situated, its operations are to force the shaft Diongitudinallyand the pinion (1' thereon into engagement/ with the pinion c on theadjacent spool-shaft (3. As shown in Figs. 4 and 9, (particularly in thelatter,) there is a shifting contact-point mounted, by means of a pivotfand a slide F on the upper .end of this lever F. The purpose of this isto enable the operating device ill to either operate this lever or passfreely over it, according to circumstances-'- that is, when the parts Fand F are in their the bar E, said lever being in engagement with thoseparts, as previously. stated. The part F is mounted on the pivot f, sothat it may be easily tilted by thedevice M on its return movement, ifit should not have fallen back to its lower position by the time of suchreturn movement. The bar E is held in the position to which it is forcedby the lever F by the detent G, as will be presently described. Theengaging or contact point F of this lever is raised into the path of thedevice M by the operation of the pawl L, acting through the leverjK, aswill be hereinafter more fully. de-

scribed.

The detent G is a spring-detent, and is so mounted within the slotin'the bar E as to be held from lateral movement thereby, and it servesto engage with the projection e when the bar is in proper position andholds said bar to such position. It may be secured at any desired point;butl havemfonndnit convenient to secure it to the upper end of the shaftN in,such a manner that while such shaft may revolve independentlythereof it will hold said detent down to its work, as best illustratedin Figs. 4 and 5, said detent being held in place by a screw g, whichenters a perforation in the upper end of said shaft.

The operation is as the bar E is moved endwise by means of the lever Fthat this detent G will drop down behind the projection e, and thus holdsaid bar E to the position to which it has been thus moved,hotwithstanding the tendency of the spring H, through the shaft D andlever F, to return it to the position from which it has been forced bythe operating device M. The tapered or sloping character of the underside of this detent G near its extreme end permits the detent to beraised by the projection e as it passes under it in the direction inwhich it is forced by the lever F, while its outer end, being square orabrupt, engages with said projection e and thus effectively holds thebar E.

The spring H, as best shown in Fi s. 4 and 11, surrounds the end of theshaft and is secured between an arm A on the frame A (which is securedto said frame Act the same point the catch for holding'the bar D to acertain position has heretofore been located) and a hub or collar onsaid shaft, which may be the hub of the crank D. The operation of thisspring is to normally hold the shaft!) into that position where thepinions d a will be in engagement, or, in other words, to act I ions (1into engagement.

reversely to the operation of the lever F when he device M comes incontact therewith. Vhen the bar E is released by raising the detent G,saidspring II will operate to throw the pinions d c out of engagementand the pintherefore, normally hold the parts to the positions indicatedby dotted lines inFig. 4, except when they are forced to the positionsindicated by the full lines by the lever F and there held by the detentG.

The lever I is secured by the pivots i to suitable points on the underside of the upper portion of the frame A and has a projecting point 1',arranged to raise the detent G out of engagement with the projection eon the bar E. .Normally this leverI remains down in the position shownin the other drawings, free from contact with the detent G, but isoperated upon occasion by the pawl J, at which times the detent G isforced upwardly, as shown in Fig. 5 and as above described.

The pawl J is mounted on the spool-shaft 0 just inside the head I on thespool 0 thereon, and is slotted so as to move back and forth on saidshaft. A flattened extension 2 on the inner surface of the spool-head 1serves to prevent said pawl from revolving. The slot is notched on oneside, as shown in Fig. 7, so that when the pawl moves outwardly it willbe held there until the spool has made substantially a completerevolution, and thus the pawl is held firmly into that position whichcauses it to operate on the lever I until it has passed the point whereits operation on said lever is effected, and which operatiou, as beforestated, is to raise the lever I, and through it the detent G, thusreleasing the bar E and permitting the spring II to operate. This shiftsthe engagement of the pinions on the shafts O and D, as above stated,and starts the ribbon R to travel in the reverse direction, and saidribbon coining presently into engagement with the projection j on thepawl J draws said pawl inwardly again, (it having by this time revolvedto that point where it is free from the detent projection 2,) and saidribbon holds said pawl from falliug out again until it has been woundup, and again unwound, when it is free to fall out to the position shownin Figs. 6 and 7, and the operation is repeated.

The lever K, as best shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 1, extends transverselyacross the machine, being pivoted at one end to the hanger A on theunder side of the ripper portion-of the Iraine A and extends thenceacross the ribbon spool at that end of the machine, passing closealongside the lever F, and is adapted go be operated upon occasion bythe pawl F F when it is itself raised by said pawl L, thus throwing thecontact-point F up into the path of the operating device M. Aspringdetent K serves to support the sliding streeture F F in theposition to which the lever K has raised it until the lever,includingsaid Said spring will,v

Its oilice is to raise the sliding structure structure, has been forcedover by the device M, which pushes it clear of said detent K, when uponrelease of the pressure thereof said device F F will fall back to itslower position. The spring-detent K is secured to the same portion ofthe frame A that the bracket A is secured to, as shown most plainly inFig. 4.

The pawl L ,"n its general form and arrangement is similar to the pawlJ, and is operated in a corresponding manner. It is shown as providedwith three engaging-points instead of one, so that one of said pointswill be certain to engage with the lever K. A single point would usuallybe sufficient; but I have provided three for greater certainty. Saidpawl is located just inside the head 3 on the spool C and is held out atthe proper point and for the proper time by the flattened extension4 inthe same way that the pawl J is held by the corresponding extension 2.

The operating device -M on the traveling carriage B is similar in formand function to the corresponding device shown, described, and claimedin my Letters Patent No. 512,584, dated January 9, 1894, (wherein it isdenominate'd an abutment,) differing only in detail construction. Itsoffice is to operate the lever F whenever its contact-point .F isprojected up into the path of said device. This, as previouslyindicated, only occurs when the unwinding of the ribbon R has releasedthe pawl L, so that the contact-point F has'been other times this deviceM passes back and forth free of contact with any part of the mechanism.

The crank-wheel N is mounted on the lower end of the shaft N, upon theupper end of which, as shown most plainly in Figs. 5 and 12, is aratchet-wheel N which ratchet-wheel is adapted to be operated by thereciprocation of the bar F through a spring-pawl e forming a part of theU-shaped structure I) secured thereon, the wheel N being positionedbetween the bar E and the structure E as is shown most plainly in Fig.13. An edge e, forming a part of the same structure, serves as a detentand prevents the spring-pawl e from pulling the ratchet-wheel N back inits return movement, as will be readily underpecially Figs. 12 and 13.Said crank-wheel N is eonnlected to and drives the mechanism by whichthe ribbon is given its transverse movement, and thus said mechanism isoperated automatically instead of by hand, as has heretofore been usual.

The rock-shaft O is or may be identical with that common to theRemington type-writer, and is provided with the usual arms 0', and thesein turn are connected with the usual bars 0 which are provided with arms0 by which the ribbon-spool is slipped back and forth on its shaft. Atone end the bar 0 is connected to the crank-wheel N, and is thus givenits movement, as has already been deoperated therefrom through the leverK. At

stood by an examination of the drawings, es- 1 IIO scribed. Otherwisethis mechanism is of a usual form and arrangement, which is not peculiarto my invention, and being easily understood will notbe furtherdescribed herein.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. The combination, in aribbon feed reversing mechanism for typewriting machines, of the ribbonspools, the ribbon runn-ing betweem said spools, tapes immediatelyconnected to said spools of a less widththan the winding surfacethereof, pawls mounted in said spools just inside the heads thereof andprovided with projections which extend out over that portion of thewinding surface of said spools left uncovered when theribbon is unwoundalongside the narrow tape thereon, and mechanism for shifting'the ribbonfeed adapted to be operated'by said pawls when extended, whereby saidmechanism is adapted to be operated when the ribbon is unwound at eachend respectively, and prevented from being operated so long asany-ribbon remains on said spools, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a ribbon feed revers-' ing mechanism for'typewriting machines, of

the ribbon-spool shafts, the ribbon spools thereon, a shaft extendingbetween said ribbon-spool shafts and adapted to drive one or the otheralternatively, a spring adapted to throw said ribbon spool shaft in onedirection,

a lever engaging with a hub 91 ,QQllal! on said.

shaft and extendingup into the path of an operating device on thetraveling carriage, a sliding contact point on said lever, a secondlever adapted to operate said sliding contactpoint, and a pawl on thecorresponding ribbon spool adapted to automatically move into positionto operate said lever when the ribbon is unwound, substantially as setforth.

3. The combination, in a ribbon feed revers ing mechanism fortypewriting machines, of a lever for moving theshaft which operates theribbon spools, a sliding contact point onv said lever, mechanismforoperating said sliding contact-point, and a spring detent K forsupporting said sliding contact-point until moved by an appropriateoperating device, and said operating device.

4. The combination, in an automatic ribbon feed reversing mechanism fortypewriting machines, of the ribbon spools, the shaft extending betweensaidribbon spools and serv-' ing to operate them to run alternatively inopposite directions, a lever for moving said shaft in one direction, aspring for moving said shaft in the other direction, a bareX-tendinglongitudinally olthe machine and adapted to be moved by saidlever, a detent G at the other end of the machine from said lever,another lever positioned below said detent, and a pawl held out ofengagement by the ribbon and released and permitted to drop intooperative. position when the ribbon is unwound for operating said leverand through it said detent, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, in a ribbon-feed reversing mechanismfor typewritingmachines, of the shaft which extends between the ribbon spool shafts andby which they are alternatively driven, a lever engaging with said shaftand extending up toward the path of the carriage a movable contact pointon said lever adapted to be thrown into the path of the carriage whenthe ribbcnis unwound by which the first named shaft is movedlongitudinally in one direction, a spring by which said shaft is movedlongitudinallyin the other direction, a sliding bar with which saidlever is engaged, and a detent engaging with said bar whereby themechanism will be held in the direction to which it has been operated bysaid lever until said detent is released- 6. The combination, with anautomatic ribbon feed reversing mechanism for typewrit- ;ing machines,and the mechanism for moving the ribbon spools transversely; of arecip-I rocating sliding bar operated from said ribbonfeed reversingmechanism, a crank shaft mounted in the frame-work of the. machine.helowioneend of saidb udnr ided .with .r. it a ratchet wheel ontheupper end and a crank or wrist on the lower. end, a pawl on saidreciprocating bar, and-a pitman connecting said crank to said mechanismfor moving the ribbon spools transversely, said parts being ar rangedand operating substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with an automatic ribbon feed reversing mechanismfor typewriting machines, and the mechanism for moving the ribbon spoolstransversely; of the reciprocating bar E provided with the spring pawle, the shaft N having the ratchet wheel N on its upper end with whichsaid pawl engages, and the crank or crank wheel N on its lower end, andthe bar or pitman 0 extending from said crank to said mechanism formoving the spools transversely, substantially as shown and described. t

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, atIndianapolis, Indiana, this 1st day of November, A. D. 1894.

CHAS. E. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

CHESTER. BRADFORD, JAMES A. WALSH.

